Pensacola Angels
The Pensacola Angels are a defunct minor league baseball team that competed in the Class-D Alabama-Florida League in 1960, winning the league championship. The Angels were a farm team of the Chicago White Sox. The league operated from 1936-1939, and then from 1951-1962 typically from April through August. The Angels fit into Pensacola's professional baseball heritage with the Pensacola Pilots, Pensacola Fliers, Pensacola Dons, Pensacola Senators and currently the Pensacola Pelicans.
The Angels home field was Admiral Mason Park, a 2,000 seat stadium located on 9th Avenue at the edge of Pensacola Bay (what is now the corner of 9th and Bayfront Parkway). The stadium was actually a miserable place to watch baseball. A sewage treatment plant was located directly across the street which meant a westerly breeze could choke even the most loyal fan. The lone parking lot was small and the dusky, humid summer evenings mixed with a large body of water brought mosquitoes. Admiral Mason Park was nicknamed "Stinko Stadium."
The team owners were Joe Pannacione and Bennie Barberi, with Doc McCormick the General Manager and J. C. Dunn the manager. The Angels were preceded by the Dons (1957-1959), and would later be renamed the Senators (1961-1962).
1960 SeasonEdit
Pensacola finished in third place with a 59-60 record, 14 1/2 games behind first place Panama City (74-44), but qualified for the post-season. In the playoffs, the Angels upended Panama City three games to two, then won the championship by defeating Selma three games to one.
The roster was: John Zahn, Ed Wojcik, Jim Broughton, Parker Eaton, Juan Gomez, Jim Schuda, Bill Hicks, Bob Gruber, J. C. Dunn, Fred Waters, Bob Vostry, Chico Sabari, Tom Clary, "Speedy" Gonzalez, Britt Madison, Ron Hafner, Ed Nottle and Joe Sullivan.
The Angels changed affliation to the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball and changed their nickname to the Pensacola Senators for the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
The league would fold after the 1962 season for refusing to accept black players.